Cream separator



March 13, 19346 c REAMY 1,9505695 CREAM SEPARATOR Filed Jan. 11, 1932 I liven/for. Ch 7'! stop/yer 5 6027?] fifforney;

Patented Mar. 13, 1934 UNITED STATES PATesr @FFEQE Application January 11 7 Claims.

This invention has reference to devices for siphoning liquids from containers, the invention being hereinafter described in its preferred embodiment as applied to separators for removing cream from bottles of milk. It is to be understood that in its broad aspects, the invention is not to be regarded as necessarily limited to cream separators and that it may be embodied in a variety of devices of this general character which operate to siphon liquids from containers.

The outstanding feature of the invention is its extreme simplicity of construction and the ease with which it may be used for the purposes above stated. My improved separator may be described briefly as comprising a cap carrying a siphon tube, and adapted to be applied to the top of a container in such manner as to be downwardly movable thereon. By virtue of its initial downward movement, the cap acts to compress the air above the liquid surface in the container to such a degree as to cause the liquid to flow upwardly through the siphon tube and to thereby start the siphoning action. Preferably the cap is given a more or less snug fit with the top of the container so that during its initial downward movement as described, no appreciable air is admissible to the container. As downward movement of the cap is continued, and after the siphon has become started, air is automatically admitted to the container by way of an arrangement of grooves in the cap, thereby permitting the siphon action to continue until the liquid level falls to the lower end of the tube.

In cream separators, the cap preferably is made of a suitable flexible material and formed in the shape of an inverted cap, the internal diameter of the cap being such that the latter snugly fits the top of the bottle. The interior surface of the side wall of the cap is provided with one or more vertically extending ribs or grooves terminating at predetermined points above the lower end of the cap. As the cap is moved downward, and beforethe grooves come into overlapping positions with the top lip of the bottle, the air above the liquid is compressed to start the siphon. Then as the grooves are brought below the lip of the bottle, air is admitted to permit continuance of the siphoning action.

The various objects of the invention as well as the details of certain typical and preferred forms thereof, will be understood most readily and clearly from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure l is a view illustrating one form of my improved cream separator, the cap being shown in section taken on line l1 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view looking upward on line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but showing 1932, Serial No. 585,828

the cap fully seated on the bottle, illustrating a variational form of the invention; and

Fig. 4 is a sectional view, similar to Fig. 2, taken on line 44 of Fig. 3.

Referring first to Fig. 1, numeral 10 indicates a milk bottle to which the separator, generally indicated at 11 may be applied for removing the cream layer at the top of the bottle. The separator comprises an inverted cup-shaped cap 12 made of a suitable flexible material, preferably of high grade rubber. A siphon tube 13 extends through an opening 14 in the upper closed end of the cap 12, opening 14 preferably being normally of somewhat smaller diameter than the siphon tube in order that the latter will have a snug,

air tight fit with the cap. The wall of the cap may be thickened around the opening as at 15, in order to increase the length of contact between the cap and siphon tube and to thereby improve the eiTectiveness of the joint against fluid leakage. Although the cap is fitted snugly to the siphon tube at opening 14, the tube may be moved vertically relative to the cap for the purpose of regulating the depth to which cream will become siphoned from the bottle, in the manner hereinafter described. As illustrated, the outer end 13a of the siphon tube projects somewhat below the end 13b of the tube which is inserted within the bottle.

The internal diameter of the cap 12 preferably is slightly less than the outer diameter of lip 10a of the bottle so that upon beingpressed downwardly over the lip, the cap will have a more or less snug fit therewith. In order to facilitate movement of the cap downwardly over the lip of the bottle, the inner surface of the cap is beveled or rounded at its lower end as at 16. A plurality of vertically extending grooves 17, which may be of any suitable width and number, four being as typical, are formed in the inner surface of the side wall of the cap. The grooves 17 extend downwardly from the upper end wall of the cap and terminate at a suitable predetermined distance from the lower end of the cap. As shown most clearly in Fig. 2, these grooves 17 communicate with radial grooves 18 formed in the undersurface of the upper end of the cap.

In operating the device, it is but necessary to place the cap on the bottle and to push the cap down until its upper end rests on the lip of the bottle, or at least until the lower ends of grooves 17 pass below the bottle lip. Two effects are produoed during the stated downward movement of the cap. First, during the downward movement of the cap to substantially the position indicated in Fig. 1, the air in space 19 within the cap is compressed to the point of exerting sufiicient pressure on the cream in the bottle to cause the latter to rise within tube 13 to the point of flowing over the bend of the siphon tube. This of the bottle. Then, as the cap is moved further down over the bottle to the point at which the lower ends of grooves 17 come below the lip 10a,

. air is admitted through the grooves to space 19 to permit the siphoning action to continue until the cream surface drops to the lower end of the siphon tube. Grooves 18 are provided in order that should the cap be pressed down to the point of engagement of its upper end with thetop surface of lip 10a, space 19 will not thereby become sealed off against the admission of air, but instead the inflow of air will continue through the groove spaces.

In Figs. 3 and 4, I show another form of the invention generally similar to the described embodiment, and differing essentially in that instead of the cap being provided with comparatively narrow grooves 17 and 18, it is formed with inwardly and downwardly projecting ribs of similar width and extent as the grooves. In Figs. 1 and 2 the portions of the cap between the grooves may of course be considered as ribs, but in Figs. 3 and 4 the rib'arrangement is somewhat modified. Cap 21 is provided with internal ribs 22 and 23, the arrangement of which, as will be seen from Fig. 4, is similar to that in the grooves in Fig. 1. The normal internal diameter of the lower portion of cap 21 below the ends of ribs 22, is slightly smaller than the external diameter of the lip of the bottle, so that the cap will snugly fit the lip during initial downward movement of the cap and until ribs 22 are caused to ride over the lip. Up to this point the air within the cap is compressed and the siphoning of cream through tube 13 is started. As soon as the ribs are forced down over the bottle lip, air is admitted to the interior of the cap to permit continued siphoning of the cream. As shown in Fig. 3, the side wall of the cap will be expanded slightly in accordance with the thickness of the ribs as the latter are forced down over the lip. Should the cap be forced down over the bottle as far as possible, air will continue to flow through the spaces between ribs 23.

It will be seen that the operation of the separator is extremely simple and reliable in that no special precautions need be taken. The only operation required is to push the cap down over the lip of the bottle, and the cap may be forced down comparatively slowly, or suddenly, without effecting the operability of the device. No ap preciable agitation of the cream will take place,

since the sole disturbance is the slight effect had by projecting the siphon tube downwardly into the cream.

I claim:

1. The combination comprising, a liquid container, an inverted cup-shaped cap extending over and around the top of said container, a siphon tube extending through said cap and projecting beneath the liquid level in the container, said cap being downwardly movable relative to said container and the air above the liquid in the container being compressed by downward movement of the cap to cause the liquid to flow upwardly through said siphon tube, and means forming a vertically extending recess in the interior surface of the side wall of said cap, said recess terminating above the lower end of the cap.

2. The combination comprising, a liquid container, an inverted cup-shaped cap extending over and around the top of said container, a siphon tube extending through said cap and projecting beneath the liquid level in the container,

course starts the siphoning of the cream from said cap being downwardly movable relative to said container and the air above the liquid in the container being compressed by downward movement of the cap to cause the liquid to flow upwardly through said siphon tube, and means forming a recess extending upwardly in the interior surface of the side wall of said cap from a point above the lower end thereof, and continuing radially inward within the lower surface of the upper end of the cap.

3. A cream separating device comprising, an inverted cup-shaped rubber cap adapted to be placed over and around the top of a bottle, the lower portion of said cap having a snug fit with the bottle, a siphon tube extending through said cap and projecting beneath the liquid level in the bottle, said cap being downwardly movable relative to the bottle and the air above the liquid in the container being compressed by downward movement of the cap to cause the liquid to flow" upwardly through said siphon tube, and a plurality of ribs on the interior surface of the side wall of the cap and terminating at predetermined points above the lower end thereof.

4. A cream separating device comprising, an'];()() inverted cup-shaped rubber cap adapted to be placed over and around the top of a bottle, the lower portion of said cap having a snug fit with the bottle, a siphon tube extending through said cap and projecting beneath the liquid level in the bottle, said cap being downwardly movable relative to the bottle and the air above the liquid in the container being compressed by downward movement of the cap to cause the liquid to flow upwardly through said siphon tube, and a plurality of ribs extending upwardly on the interior surface of the side wall of said cap and continuing radially inward on the lower surface of the upper end of the cap.

5. A siphon comprising an inverted cup-shaped cap adapted to be placed over the mouth of a bottle with sliding fit to move relative to the bottle with an initially fluid-tight fit, and a siphon tube supported in place by said cap and extending through the cap to a point beneath the liquid level in the bottle, said cap having means adapted automatically to place the interior of the bottle in communication with the exterior atmosphere by virtue of the sliding movement of the cap on the bottle, but only after a predetermined amount of such sliding movement.

6. A siphon comprising an inverted cup-shaped cap adapted to be placed over the mouth of a bottle with sliding fit to move relative to the bottle with an initially fluid-tight fit, and a siphon tube supported in place by said cap and extending through the cap to a point beneath the liquid level in the bottle, said cap having an air passage in its vertical wall adapted automatically to place the interior of the bottle in communication with the exterior atmosphere by virtue of the sliding movement of the cap on the bottle, but only after apredetermined amount of such sliding movement.

'7. A siphon comprising a U-shaped tube, a cap mounted thereon having a flange designed for an air-tight connection with a container having an open end when initially applied to the latter, and spacing means carried by the cap for contacting with the container when the cap is moved down in place for providing an air passageway into the container the flange enclosing the top of the bottle.

CHRISTOPHER S. REAMY. 

